Anvil guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow has opened up about how he settled his differences with Lemmy Kilmister after he refused to join Motorhead in 1983.

The Canadian was working on Anvil’s third album, Forged in fire, when the call came, after “Fast” Eddie Clarke left the British band. Kudlow has spoken in the past about his decision to stick with his band. His rejection of the offer led Kilmister to set a new version of Motorhead starring Phil Campbell, which remained until the frontman’s death in 2016.

“At first, Lemmy was really, really pissed at me,” Kudlow said in a recent interview with Made of metal. “But once he solved the problem, he realized, ‘How can I be mad at him? I would have said no if he had asked me.

“When you ask someone who is doing something to join your group and they say no because [they’re] too busy, it’s not because they don’t like what you’re doing,” Kudlow noted. “But he had more trouble understanding. …what he actually told me [was], ‘Did you realize what this opportunity was and what I could have done for your career?’ And I said, “Yes, I did – but at the same time it would have been detrimental to my career because [Anvil] wouldn’t have had a third album.

You can watch the interview below.

Kudlow said he was happy the pair managed to “bury the hatchet” later. “I went on a UK tour with Lemmy,” he said. “We had this discussion about everything that had happened. … Lemmy [was] sitting there in the hotel room, “You did well, man, because you’re Lips and I’m Lemmy.” There are two groups here, and it’s better than one.

He said of declining the invitation: “It’s just that you can’t let go of your responsibility. You signed your recording contracts. Adding that the situation would have escalated into “lawsuits” and “people angry at each other”, he said: “Where are you going, and what is the end game? What’s the fucking point? Is it going to make such a big difference?”